Lighter



March 14, 195o A R. F, LANDWEHR Re. 23,207

LIGHTER Original Filed Deo. 19, 1945 2 Sheets-#Sheet 1 Mar'eh 14, 1950 R. F. LANDWEHR LIGHTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Deo. 19, 1945 The attainment of objectives in the paragraph preceding introduces, however, a problem concerned with the extent of opening of the cover. This extent of opening must be at least 90 so as to fully expose the wiclc. This extent of full opening is diUicult to attain by reason of the presence of the flint tube, which is in underlying relation to, and in substantial alignment with, the pivot pin of the cover. Accordingly, a further object of this invention is to provide a cover of the type described which will have an extent of opening 90 or more.

For the attainment of these objects and such other objects, features and advantages as may hereafter appear or be pointed out, I have illustrated an embodiment of my invention wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fully assembled lighter with its cover latched in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a similar View with the cover unlatched and held in raised position by its spring;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view showing the parts of the lighter in exploded arrangement; and

Fig. 'l is a fragmentary section illustrating a modified latching means for the cover.

Referring to the drawings, the lighter comprises a fuel tank I0, preferably of oblong horizontal cross-section. This fuel tank is open at the bottom and closed-at the top by front and rear top wall portions I I and I2 stepped upwardly from front to rear with an upwardly and rearwardly inclined connecting wall. The front top wall portion II is provided with an opening I3 preferably located midway between the sides of the fuel tank and the rear top wall portion is provided with an opening I4. Rearwardly inclined arms I5 extend upwardly from opposite side walls of the fuel tank and have registering or axially aligned openings I6 to receive a pivot pin I1 vertically above said opening I4.

In the front wall of said fuel tank I0 is a depression I8 whose depth increases upwardly and in which is received part of a leaf spring locking latch I9 for a cover or snuffer cap 20. The lower end of said latch I9 is secured by headed screws I 9l to the front wall of the fuel tank at the lower end of said depression. Above the top wall portion I I extends the upper part of latch I9 which is provided with a forwardly projecting protuberance 2| adapted to serve as a push button. The upper end of said latch I9 has a forwardly extending locking or latching projection 22.

A wick tube 23 having a wick 24 therein is dropped through opening I3 in top wall portion II to seat a shoulder 25 at the lower end of an enlarged head 26, on the upper surface of top wall portion I I. A int tube 21 closed at the bottom by screw threaded closure member 29, is force-fitted in opening I4. The flint 28 is elevated in the tube by spring 1|) into engagement with the flint wheel as will shortly be pointed out. Due to the higher level of top wall portion I2, fuel escaping from the wick will not reach the top of the flint tube or operating means above the same.

The lower part of fuel tank I0 fts closely in the open top of an outer casing 30 closed at its bottom and of less `height than the fuel tank. The fuel tank I0 when snugly nested in the outer casing will extend above the upper edge thereof. Telescoped on the upper part of the fuel tank Ill is an intermediate casing 35, which is a hollow shell of oblong cross-section, open at the top as well as at the bottom and of approximately the same internal and external Width and length in cross-section as the outer casing 30 and is seated on the top edge thereof. Said intermediate casing thus forms a continuation or extension of the outer casing 30.

Said intermediate casing 35 comprises sides 36, front and rear walls 3l and 38 respectively, a bridge piece 39 across the top at the front and a bridge piece 40 across the top at the rear and at a higher level or elevation. In the front wall 31 there is an opening 4I through which the push button 2| can pass. At their rear portions the sides or side walls have curved top edge portions 42 in the forms of circular arcs about an a axis substantially the same as that of openings I6 in arms I5. At their front ends said sides 36 are provided for ventilation purposes with openings 43 preferably in the form of vertical slots.

Above the intermediate casing 35 is the cover proper 20 comprising side walls 44, front wall 45 and top wall 4G. The rear portions of said side walls 44 are bounded by edges 41 in the form of circular arcs concentric with central openings 4B and 48a in said rear portions of the right side Wall and the left side wall respectively, and the two openings are in axial alignment with each other although opening 48a is of smaller diameter and internally screw threaded. The radii of said circular arc edges 41 are equal and substantially the same as the radii of the curved top edge portions 42 of the intermediate casing 35. The top wall 46 comprises a front portion 49 which may be flat and a rear portion 5D curved to the same radius as the outer edges 41 of the rear portion of said side walls. ATop surface 49 is provided With a ridge 49X to serve as a finger-piece to facilitate closing of the cover.

The two top wall portions 49 and 5l) are separated by a depression 5I of V-shaped crosssection. When the cover 2|) is closed, the rear edge of the curved rear portion 50 of the cover is just inside the edge of the downwardly inclined forward edge portion 52 of the bridge piece 40 of the intermediate casing 35. ProjectionI or flange 53 at the inner face of they front wall 45 constitutes a latch element to be engaged at its upper surface by projection 22 of the latch I9. The lower edge of the front wall 45 of the cover when the latter is closed, is located just behind the rear edge of the bridge piece 39.

For foreshortening the cap, the intermediate casing 35 is provided as a separate member. This simplifies manufacture and assembly of the parts and also incorporates the following features: The curvature of the top edge portions 42 of the intermediate member and the correspond-- ing curvature of the rear portions of the side walls 44 of the cover closes the casings at the sides for all positions of the cap. The cooperation of the correspondingly curved rear portion 50 of the top of the cover with the inner surface of the bridge piece 4D closes the top of the casing at the rear in all positions of the cover. Such cooperating curvatures therefore keep the upper parts of the casing closed at the sides and back. The bearing for the swinging movement of the cap or cover 2l) is not actually the pivot pin I1, but comprises the curved edges 41 of the rear portions of the side walls 44 of the cover and the curved portions v42 at the upper edges of the sidewalls 44 of the intermediate casing'. The pivot pin -merely serves to -hold the cap lfrom rising from its bearing.

Inside the front part of the cover 2!) is a snuier proper comprising a tubular part 54 with a flange at its upper end secured to the top wall portion 49 at its underside, and a second tubular part 55 slidably mounted in part 54 and pressed downwardly by a spring 55 to surround the upper end of the wick 24 and engage the head 26 of the wick tube 23, thus extinguishing the flame. The tubular member 55 is of smaller external diameter than the internal diameter of part 54.

'The guiding of part 55 may be attained by passing the tube 55 through a corresponding opening provided by an internal flange 51 at the lower part of tubular part 54 and an external flange k58 projecting outwardly from'the tubular part 55 abovethe flange 51. The-tubular part 55 `is. placed in the part 54 from above and is urged downwardly by said helical spring 56 which is interposed between said front top wall portion 49 and said flange 58 and serves to bring flange 58 torest against flange 51. Such contact will exist when the cover is open. As the cover is moved to closed position the snuffer tube moves into engagement with head 26 of the wick tube and during the final closing movement of the cover said spring 56 is compressed. The engaging surface at the top of the wick tube 23 and the bottom of tube 55 are shown as inclined to increase the effectiveness of the snufling action.

The completed lighter includes a number of devices mounted on the pivot pin I1 between the arms I projecting from the top of the feed tank I0. One of these devices is a centrally looped helical spring 59 surrounding the pivot pin I1, one end of the spring extending forwardly below said pivot pin to engage a fixed part such as the forward edge of one of the arms I5 and the other end extending forwardly above the pivot pin and engaging the cover from below. The arrangement is such that closing the cover stresses' the spring and upon unlatching the cover, 'the spring will act to open the same.

Also mounted on pivot pin I1 is a flint wheel 60 which has a knurled or roughened cylindrical surface 6I. The end face of the flint wheel remote from the spring has one-way teeth 62 cut therein. Mounted on said pivot pin I1 between said teeth 62 and the adjacent arm I5 is a metal Washer 64 which is radially split at 65 and is bent toward said teeth 62 at one side of said slit to provide an actuating edge or tooth 66 to engage teethv 62. For actuation by the cover 26, said washer has a circular arc edge portion 61 of such a radius that it can be received within said curved rear' portion 50 of the cover and at each end yof said edge portion 61 are shoulders 68 and 69 resulting from an increase in radius of said washer beyond said points. The remaining edge portion 1U extending from shoulder to shoulder may be curved according to such increased radius. `The shoulder 58 abuts the under side of the V-shaped depression 5I and the shoulder 69 abuts the rear edge of said curved top wall portion 5l), whereby the washer 64 will be constrained to move with the cover so that opening of the cover will throw the flint wheel 60.

An important feature resides in the ease of assembly and of disassembly. The fuel tank I0 with the wick tube 23 and the flint tube 21 placed therein constitute a sub-assemb1y on which the outer casing and the intermediate casing 35 are assembled to form a casing assembly. The

G cover 2U may be placed on .the intermediate cas- .ing 35'in its 'opnor raised position with'the arcuate v,edges 41 of the rear ends of said side walls 44v seated on the arcuate edge `portions 42 ofthe sides'of the intermediate casing 35.

The pivot pin Il1 is inserted from the right through opening 48 lof the cover, through the opening I6 in the adjacent arm 'I5 of the fue] tank, ythrough the member or washer 64, through the flint wheel 60,'the loop of spring 59, the left arm I5, and the threaded reduced end of the pin screwed into the opening 48a in theleft side 44fof the cover, as indicated 'in Fig, 4. In the final assembly one end of the spring 59 extends forwardly over said pivot pin I1 and engages the top wall 46 of the cover from below, preferably beneath the V-shaped depression 5I, andthe other end'of the spring extends forwardly beneath the pivot and `engages a fixed part preferably the left arm I5 of the fuel tank by means of its offturnedend.

'l'n"Fig.`7, there are disclosures of a modified latch IBa and avmodified operating device 2Ia. The latch element 53 on the cover may be the same as in the rst forni but the latch I9a has an opening 22a in its upper end to receive said element 53. Opposite the opening in the front of v the intermediate casing, the corresponding part of the latch is much farther to the rear than in the nrstform and at this point inside the casing is pivoted the operating device 2Ia in the form of a rocking member with a flat part engaging the adjacent portion of the latch. At its front the rocking member or finger piece Zia is roughened or lnurled so that it can easily be rocked in either direction to release the latch. Itw'ill be understood that the embodiments shown inthe drawings are merely by way of exemplin'cation and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: '[1; In a lighter, a fuel tant,"` with a front top wall portion having a hole therein and a higher rear vtop wall portion with a hole therein, arms projecting upwardly and rearwardly fomth'e side walls of said tank and having holes therein aligned along an axis vertically above the second mentioned hole,v a wiel: tube extending through the nfrst hole and having a head resting on said front topwall portion, a flint holder in the second hole, a 'casing telescoped over the top of said tanks and having a iront bridge piece and a higher rear 'bridge piece, the `side walls of said casing having in their rear top edges circular arc portions Vabout the axis through the holes inthe arms, a top having at rear ends of its side walls circular arc endstting in said circular arc 4portions of vthe casing and having holes the part circular ends in alignment with the holes in the arms, a pivot ypin through said pairs of holes, spring means urging the cover upwardly, a latch for the forward end of the cover, a int 'wheelon said pivot pin, cover-operated means for throwing the flint wheel, and a telescoping snuffer projecting downwardly from the cover to engage said head of the wick tube] [2. In a lighter, a fuel tank having front, back, side and top walls, a wick tube extending upwardly through said top wall, arms extending upwardly from the top of the side walls and having openings therein in transverse registration at a level above said top wall to dene the axis of rotation ,for the snuier cap, a supplemental casing having side and end walls engaged about and telescoped over the upper end of the fuel tank and extendlng above the top wall thereof and overlying said arms, the upper edges of the side Walls of the supplemental casing having a portion thereof curved concavely to a radius about said axis to receive the snurier cap and a snuier cap having side Walls whose rear portions are curved concavely to the same radius as aforementioned for seating in said concavely curved portion formed in the supplemental casing, said side Walls of the cap having openings, in registration with the openings in the arms, and a pivot pin received in saidregistering openings and about which the snuffer cap is swung from open to closed position] [3. In a lighter, a fuel tank havingfront, back, side and top walls, a wick tube extending upwardly through said top wall, arms extending upwardly from the top of the side walls and having openings therein in transverse registration, at a level above the top Wall of the fuel tank to define the axis o rotation for the snutler cap, a supplemental casing having side and end Walls engaged about the upper end of the fuel tank and extending above the top Wall thereof and overlying said arms, the upper edges of the side Walls of the supplemental casing having a portion thereof curved concavely to a radius about said axis to receive the snuier cap and a snuier cap having its rear portion formed cylindrically to seat in said concavely curved portion of the supplemental casing, said side Walls of the cap having openings in registration with the openings in the arms, and a pivot pin received in said registering openings in the snuifer cap and arms] [4. The -combination according to claim 3 wherein the rear and front ends of the supplemental casing are provided with transverse bridge pieces which foreshorten the opening in through the top of the supplemental casing, said snuier cap extending between the bridge pieces and being thus foreshortened with relation to the corresponding dimension of both the fuel tank and the supplemental casing] 5. In a lighter of the type comprising a hollow body having side and end walls, the rear end wall being of a height greater than the said side walls, and the latter walls adjacent said end walls being each provided with a substantially semi-circular cut-out, a pair of ears extend-ing upwardly above the side walls of said body and disposed at said rear cut-outs of the side walls, and a cover pivotally mounted on said cars, the rear end of said cover having side walls each substantially circular to conform to the curvature of the cut-outs of the side walls of the hollow body, that improvenient characterized by a foreshortened cover having its said rear end disposed inwardly from the rear wall of said body and its front end disposed inwardly from the front wall of said body, saiid body being provided with a rear bridgepiece at said higher rear end wall and extending to said rear wall of the foreshortened cover, and a front bridge-piece extending to said front end portions of said supplemental casing telescoping over the upper portion of said tank.

7. In the type of lighter defined in claim 5 further provided with latch means for said cover, a flint tube disposed at the rear portion of said body and a wick tube disposed at the front portion of the body, the improvement according to claim 5 wherein the top of said fuel tank is stepped between said flint and wick tubes to provide a rear elevated portion and a front depressed portion whereby the upper end of the )lint tube is v higher than that of the wick tube and whereby said depressed front portion provides space for said latching means.

. 8. In the type of lighter defined in claim 5 wherein said rear circular ends of the side walls of the cover are mounted on said pair of ears by a pivot located at the center point of said circular cut-outs of the side walls of the body and said rear circular enids of the side walls of the cover, further provided withaflint tube of appreciable thickness disposed on a neutral axis through said pivot, the improvement according to claim 5 wherein said cover is provided with an arcuate top wall ai said circular ends of the cover side walls, th'e rear edge of which cooperates with the front edge of said rear bridge-piece to completely close the lighter when the cover is horizontal, said front edge of the rear bridge-piece subiending an obtuse angle with the axis of the flint tube whereby when the cover is vertical, said rear edge of the arcuate cover top will not contact said jlint tube.

9. The improvement according to claim 8 wherein, when said cover is in said horizontal position, said arcuate top wall of the cover is disposed substantially horieontally in overlying rele of this patent or the original patent:

RICHARD F. LANDWEHR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent or the original patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 983,238 Kellermann Jan. 31, 1911 1,028,462 Heyman June 4, 1912 1,060,150 Adamian Apr. 29, 1913 1,086,175 Hofmann Feb. 3, 1914 1,487,995 Wilkins Mar. 25, 1924 2,234,768 Maltner Mar. 11, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 47,128 Austria Mar. 27, 1911 356,962 Great Britain Sept. 17, 1931 699,213 Germany Nov. 25, 1940 

